yakkowarner's Full Review: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
This is one of my favorite childhood movies. As a child and teenager this was my favorite out of the four. From a technical level I think movie number one is still the best and as an adult I think Raiders is the best. But this movie has a lot going for it and if you liked movie one then you will like this film. Unless you really hate rats. The plot and story The movie starts off with a brief introduction that has very little to do with the movie. I'm not going to tell you anything about it so I don't spoil it for you. But once the movie gets going you follow Indiana Jones on a mission to find his father and the Holy Grail. A cup used by Jesus Christ at the last supper. Rumor has it that this cup gives everlasting life to whomever drinks from it, and Hitler wants it. Indiana Jones' father is the real expert on the Holy Grail and Indiana Jones makes this clear. Problem is that the senior Dr. Jones was searching for it but became missing. So Indiana Jones goes on a mission to find his father. He thinks that by following the path his father took, he will find his father.
The writing The writing is well done. It isn't grand or award winning but it does the job well. Harrison Ford is able to do a lot with the dialog he is given and his character really comes out. You get to see Indy react differently to different situations. His demeanor is different when he interacts with each character. He plays the leadership role at times when he is called and a conflicted role when he is with his father. A lot of the interaction he has with his father brings out the inner child conflict and frustrations he has with his father. It is frustrating to watch as the man becomes a child. In fact, in a way, this is the story of Indy becoming a man in his father's eyes. This interaction and conflict do change throughout the movie. It can also like two alpha dogs trying to gain dominance without trying to hurt each other. I also enjoyed the dialog between the characters. Each set of dialogues were unique depending on who the actors were. You could see and understand the relationship by these interactions even though no real character building took place. So both Dr. Jones' change their character depending on who they are interacting with and the situation they are in bringing an extra set of depth to these relationships. For example, Marcus brings out a totally different character for the senior Dr. Jones than anyone else does, and it is funny to watch.
The pacing and editing The pacing is nearly perfect. It is action packed and keeps a similar pace that the first movie had. The story just keeps going and going with exciting scene after exciting scene (with a few slower scenes added in between.) As an adult I feel that the slow parts of this movie are a tiny bit too long. They feel longer than Raiders, and they lack the emotion the first movie had. As a child, I thought the action scenes in this movie were better and more exciting (probably the main reason I liked this movie better as a child.) The action was more unique and creative than the other three movies.
The acting Harrison Ford's portrayal of Indiana Jones is great as usual. He is in a conflicted position yet still plays the hero role. The conflict comes mainly from the interactions with his father. What I love about his acting is it is genuine and believable. Indy isn't over the top, nor is he superficial or shallow. Sean Connery is a wonderful actor and he shows it in this film. Now he is both James Bond and Captain Marko Alexandrovich Ramius in other films, yet in each film the character he portrays is unique. That is one of the things I like about how he performs these roles. He is not type cast and forced to be the same person in each film. My only real criticism is I don't think he has played a deviant character or a timid character. The acting from the other characters is good, just nothing that I found captivating. But the best humor came from Marcus. He had a bit part in the first film and in this film he was a strong comedic element of this film. Denholm Elliott pulled this role off perfectly.
The character development This also is well done, for the Jones boys that is. They start character development in the pre-movie part in the beginning and show how Indiana got some of his motivation. It also, in a matter of seconds, showed how shallow Indiana Jones' relationship with his father was. It is this lack of relationship that is talked about again and again throughout the movie. This relationship and development was done extremely well. The development of the other characters are fairly shallow. I don't find this to be a problem because the main focus is on the "Jones boys". Everyone else can take a back seat. So lack of development of these other characters is not necessary since this is not their story. I would say they did enough development to get by for the other characters.
The special effects This movie was made with traditional special effects, and they were done very well. From cool spring loaded catapults, to the usual fiery explosions. The only "special effect" (that I can identify) was done by a time lapse camera. In a way, this movie is an example of how traditional effects should be done. They are nearly perfect. Too many times the studios rely too heavily on CG, and CG just isn't that advanced yet (see Wolverine Origins and you know what I'm talking about.)
Replay value Very good. I've seen this dozens of times and enjoy it every time. For me it never gets old.
Should children watch it? Older or mature children. There are a few scary scenes that I recommend young children should not view until they understand that it is all make believe (like a body decomposing in front of your eyes, a head being chopped off, etc.). Nothing really too graphic, just some disturbing stuff
Genre: Action/Adventure The key players Director: Steven Spielberg Screenplay: Jeffrey Boam Story: George Lucas, & Menno Meyjes Music: John Williams
My End Line. This is a true adventure movie and one of the best. While not as good as the original Indiana Jones, it is a very close second. The movie is entertaining from beginning to end.
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